Dear friends,

A very warm welcome to this service, wherever you are worshipping in the Langtree Team Ministry area this morning. A special welcome to baby Finlay O’Sullivan and his family, as he is baptised at St John’s Stoke Row. May God’s peace and presence be with him all throughout his life.

St Leonard’s Woodcote and Whitchurch parishes have their Annual Parish Church Meeting today after their services. These meetings are where churchwardens and church council members are elected, and where you can hear reports on the activities of your local church throughout the last year. Do please stay on and take part. Checkendon’s APCM is next Sunday, after a shortened and informal service of Holy Communion, where we will be using an Ethiopian orthodox liturgy. Do take the opportunity that your APCM provides to say “thank you” to those who serve and minister in any way, whether lay or ordained. “Team” means just what it says.

This coming Tuesday the Langtree Team is once again hosting a rural ministry study day, when we will be welcoming eight ordinands (= trainee clergy) from Ripon College Cuddesden. Please pray for all of us, that what we share with the students may be inspiring and challenging. Our benefice is an excellent learning environment, offering many very good “case studies” for clergy in trainnig. Several of those we have met this way in the past have gone on to rural curacy placements, and one has featured on the recent TV series “A Vicar’s Life” !

Finally, don’t forget to pray. It is the path to peace.

Your Rector, and servant for Christ’s sake

Canon Kevin Davies.